Shookie, the King of Community Spotlights! You know, while a lot of us would love to get just one spotlight, this dude has racked up twenty-eight. TWENTY-EIGHT! That's a "2" and an "8" people. Whoa! This is no small feat I assure you and each spotlight was very much well deserved. Before we get into the particulars about this creator and what makes him tick and such, I first want to tell you about my first introduction to Shookie.It was a cold December morning when I was born in...Ok, that may be a little too far back. Let's skip ahead to 2008 when I first got LBP. I had no internet at the time, so while I loved the game, I couldn't fully experience it because of the lack of online capabilities. It would be almost a full year before I got online and when I did, I immediately fired up LBP too see what the community had to offer. The very 1st community level I played was Shookie's "The Honey Hive." I was instantly

There are some creators who, while brilliant, investigate every possibility within the realm of creation. There is no focus, no strong point, merely experimentation. There are others, however, who find their niche and continually improve upon it, exploring within that single realm of possibility and stretching its boundaries ever outwards, until they are satisfied.

Of course, creators being the strange creatures that we are, we are never satisfied.

Notorious is one of these creators. On playing his levels, it won’t take much for you to discover what his passion is. The style of these levels screams out the name of their creator. That’s not to say that his library is limited in any way. Quite the opposite in fact, as Notorious pushes the boundaries of what can be done with the tools in LittleBigPlanet.
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Who can believe that it's already been 100 episodes? Over 4 years ago, our beloved Community Spotlight first opened our eyes to the world of awesome LBP levels, posted right on your front doorstep, here at LittleBigPlanet Central!

Such a momentous occasion just cannot go uncelebrated. So we on the Creator Spotlight Crew thought it would be wonderful to hear a few words from behind the scenes – to speak to the Community Spotlight Crew themselves, and get an idea of what makes them tick.

There are some names in the LittleBigPlanet community which you can mention in any forum (yes, I'm big on name-dropping!), and pretty much everyone would know who you were talking about. Mnniska is one of them.

I could wax lyrical all evening about his creations, his ideas, the presence he has as a member of the community, but let's face it – I don't need to. You probably already know all about him!

We may as well not even bother having this interview then!

Kidding!

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The Rocket fuel I scoffed for breakfast probably helped too...

All right, this one isn’t really a question, but if you would be so kind, please list the levels you’ve published to date and any statistics you’d like to share with us, i.e. plays, hearts, how many rocket animals per level, etc. Whatever you feel like sharing.

LBP1 stuff:

Adventure t(h)rough the evil factory!(A platformer set in an evil factory that sort of wants to murder you. It has no plot, only murderous surroundings.)

A Level in Create Mode(Colourful puzzle level where you had to copy the level to your moon and play it in create mode. It got an mm pick about six months after it’s release. Waha!)
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amazingflyingpoo. Who IS this guy anyway? I remember the first time I noticed him lurking around one of the LittleBigPlanet community forums. I thought to myself, "With a name like that, he's either a genius or completely out of his mind. Either way, I'd better check out some of his levels." Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought that, because his levels have always been incredibly popular. When you load up an amazingflyingpoo creation, you are guaranteed a feature-length experience. His well-developed stories and clever gameplay mechanics make you feel less like you're playing a level and more like you're playing an entire game.
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Yes, the creator who took his name from a holiday he took when he bought his PS3 (Talk about random.... *cough*) is now under the Creator Spotlight microscope! Holguin86 is the perfect example of someone who likes to push the envelope. Every level on his earth is a refreshing take on established concepts within gaming: The Time Warp, The Dungeon, The Survival Challenge, and of course... The Boss.

The man is infatuated with Boss fights - and each one he releases is even more challenging and intriguing than the last! But that's far from the only thing he has to offer - this creator is no one-trick pony. Imaginative settings and mind-blowing gameplay mechanics are a foregone conclusion when Holguin86 is involved.

How does he do it? It's a mystery to me. I suspect there may be some sort of voodoo practices at work. Perhaps involving fabric effigies of sackboy in front of a bubbling cauldron, heaped to the brim with jelly. I hope that my questioning will help me find the secret of this witchcraft...
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Let me tell you the story of a particular man. His delicate, organic and insanely detailed environments have inspired hundreds of happy gadders to emulate his work. The sheer spectacle of one of his creations is enough to send his followers into crazed fits of jealousy, bemoaning their own mediocre talents to anyone who would care to listen. The moment he hits the publish button, a shiver goes down the neck of all who know him. His name travels far and wide, and that name is..?

Storytelling is not an especially easy thing to do, and neither is building an enjoyable level in LittleBigPlanet. Put the two tasks together and now you've got a real challenge. You have to weave just the right tapestry of story-driven interest, punctuate it with meaningful player interaction, maintain a believable environment, and deliver a worthwhile gaming experience all at the same time. When a story-driven level in LBP comes together it's really something to behold, and one of the true masters of the trade is kaiju_kid.

So, what's a kaiju level like? That's not a simple question to answer. It might be touching, insightful, and surprise you with its profound social commentary. Or, it might be completely and utterly absurd such as a factory specializing in cybernetic livestock or an intergalactic takeout service. And yet still, it might be about an entire world made out of poop. Oh, right - that's still the absurd option.

Well then, never mind the wordy descriptions. Let's see some of his work for ourselves.
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The year is 20XX and Dr. Dimo has taken over the world with his robot bosses. Do you have what it takes to stop the evil inventor and save the world from his mechanized creations? To be honest, probably not. Or at least not right away.
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LittleBigPlanet is more than just a game. It's a platform for telling stories, for creating art, and for making your ideas come to life. Let's not forget that it's also a particularly excellent platform for... well, platformers. Everybody loves a good old fashioned bubble-packed sidescroller, making a mad dash for the end of the level while jumping and swinging your way to the top of the scoreboard. When you're in the mood for no nonsense left-to-right action, you simply can't do much better than a level by VelcroJonze. The elegant, striking shapes and flowing gameplay of his masterpiece crea... *BOING*
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